THE CHALLENGES OF AGRICULTURE AS CLIMATE CHANGE ADVANCES

Many cultivated lands suffer the effects of climate change: droughts, floods, changes in temperature… Smart agriculture presents some of the keys to fighting it.

The Horn of Africa has been facing the longest and most severe drought in recent history for months. At the end of 2022, it was the fifth consecutive failed rainy season, with rainfall between 40 and 70% below average in countries such as Somalia.

Oxfam Intermón reports that one in five children in the country could face deadly forms of malnutrition if immediate measures are not taken. The impact of climate change on agriculture is directly related to the lack of rainfall and food insecurity that threatens millions of people in this area of ​​the planet, but which affects us all.

The close relationship between agriculture and climate change

As the planet’s temperature rises, the impacts of global warming become more severe. Agriculture faces a scenario defined by increasingly numerous and intense droughts, floods and extreme weather events. A fact that endangers the food security of the entire population in constant growth (at the end of 2022 we will reach 8,000 million inhabitants on the planet).

It is also one of the sectors that produces the most greenhouse gas emissions, between 19% and 29% of total emissions. And, as the World Bank notes, approximately 80% of global deforestation is due to agriculture.

Increasing food production will also cause water use to increase by 40% to 50% in the coming decades. Therefore, its role in mitigating climate change is also crucial. We need crops that ensure food supply with environmental respect.

We cannot think about the future of agriculture, climate change and the planet without a transformation of this sector. This means adopting more effective and sustainable practices that can, on the one hand, meet the needs of an ever-growing global population and, on the other, reduce their own impact on the planet.

The climate challenges facing agriculture

Agriculture affects climate change while suffering its consequences. Few sectors are so sensitive to climate:

• Changes in rainfall: Rainfall patterns have already begun to change around the world, leading to more intense periods of heavy rain and longer dry periods, even within the same regions. Either it doesn’t rain, or it rains much more than the crops can withstand.

• Changes in temperature: factors such as the increase in average temperatures and the increase in periods of extreme heat affect the development of agricultural crops. The wine sector began to notice changes years ago. With the increase in temperatures, the maturation of the vine occurs earlier and the harvests are brought forward. Furthermore, having increasingly hot summers and months like August with very high temperatures mean that the maturity parameters are not adequate and the vegetative cycle is harmed.

• Floods: both floods and rising sea levels devastate crops, accelerate soil erosion, contaminate water and damage infrastructure linked to agriculture.

• Droughts: for its part, the scarcity of water causes crops to suffer and even fail to grow. Experts warn that the gradual increase in temperatures will probably make periods of drought longer and more intense.

• Changes in crop and livestock viability: farmers choose crop varieties that are well adapted to local conditions. As those conditions change in the coming decades, they will be forced to rethink some of their options, which may mean making new capital investments, finding new markets, and learning new practices.

• New pests, pathogens and weed problems: they will also have to face new threats. An insect or weed that can no longer thrive in North Africa may find a perfect home in Southern Europe in the future, and farmers will have to adapt.

• Increasingly harsh working conditions: As the heat intensifies, farmers will face increasingly harsh and potentially unsafe working conditions.

• Food insecurity: Reductions in agricultural productivity or sudden losses of crops or livestock will likely have ripple effects, including rising food prices and greater food insecurity.

Smart agriculture to fight the climate crisis

One of the ways to fight the problems of climate change in agriculture is to seek measures that address resilience and the mitigation of its consequences for this sector. In this sense, climate-smart agriculture refers to a variety of innovative practices that increase productivity, improve resilience to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by agricultural activity.

Currently, African farmers use, on average, only 20 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare. To maximize yields, it is estimated that local farmers will need to increase that amount of fertilizer tenfold. Doing this sustainably, without long-term environmental damage, will be crucial. Not only for the African continent, but also for the world. According to the World Economic Forum, Africa’s vast, fertile soils represent humanity’s best hope for future food security.

Agriculture that emphasizes soil health and tailored fertilization to achieve sustainable high yields is key to reducing your carbon footprint. More efficient application of the right fertilizer, only what the specific soil and crop needs and will use, reduces waste and runoff to ground and surface water.

Climate-smart agriculture encompasses a wide variety of such measures. But the most necessary is, without a doubt, to address the root of the problem: mitigate the effects of climate change and limit the rise in temperatures. This means reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero urgently and immediately.

The challenge is to achieve agriculture with high levels of efficiency and sustainability, based on science and innovation and with the leading role of its farmers.